Erosion of customer trust and confidence is the single most damaging consequence of DDoS attacks for businesses, according to a study amongst IT security professionals attending this year’s Infosecurity Europe, conducted by Corero Network Security. Almost half (42%) of IT security professionals who responded said loss of customer trust and confidence was the most damaging result of DDoS attacks for their businesses, while 26% cited data theft as the worst effect.

Potential revenue losses were the third-most cited damaging impact (13%) followed by the threat of intellectual property theft (10%).

“Network and web services availability are crucial to ensuring customer satisfaction and sustaining customer trust and confidence in a brand. These indicators are vital to both the retention and acquisition of customers in highly competitive markets,” said Ashley Stephenson, CEO at Corero Network Security. “When an end user is denied access to Internet-facing applications or network outages degrade their experience, it immediately impacts brand reputation.”

When asked which “security lapse” scenario would be most damaging to their organisation should it be made public knowledge, 39% of participants cited repercussions from loss of intellectual property and/or customer data, 22% cited inclusion of organisational infrastructure into a DDoS attack botnet, and 18% and 17% said the incursion of regulatory fines and becoming the target of a DDoS attack, respectively.

Stephenson said: “The cyber threat landscape has become increasingly sophisticated and companies remain vulnerable to DDoS because many traditional security infrastructure products, such as firewalls and IPS, are not sufficient to mitigate modern attacks. Proactive DDoS protection is a critical element in proper cyber security protection against loss of service and the potential for advanced, multi-modal attack strategies.”

“With our digital economy utterly dependent upon access to the Internet, organisations should think carefully about taking steps to proactively protect business continuity, particularly including DDoS mitigation,” he concluded.

As President and Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Andrew Lloyd is responsible for leading Corero’s commercial expansion and sales growth with a focus on delighting new and existing customers. Andrew has been involved in the IT software and systems sector for more than 30 years.